Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group agreed to buy minority stake in the company
The shares of Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) are rising this Boxing Day, as the company is finally seeing some relief from its recent ownership uncertainty. British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group agreed to buy a minority stake in MANU, and will manage the soccer club's operations, giving fans some relief due to the team's poor performance under the Glazer family for the past 10 years.
At last glance, Manchester United stock was up 3.2% at $20.48, and breaking above long-term pressure at the $20 level, as well as its 100-day moving average. Since the start of the year, the equity is still down roughly 12%.
Options traders are chiming in on the news. So far, 13,000 calls and 7,197 puts have been exchanged, which is already 2.1 times the average daily options volume. The January 2024 22-strike call is the most popular contract, followed by the January 2024 20-strike put. Contracts are being sold-to-open at the former.
It's also worth noting that short interest has been building, and now represents 12.4% of the stock's available float. It would take over six days for shorts to cover their bets, at MANU's average pace of trading.